17.5-m Highway Tunnel Opens in Jinan, China
The 5,755-m long Huanggang Road Yellow River Tunnel opened to traffic on Aug. 25 in Jinan, People’s Daily Online reported. Located in China’s Shandong Province, the project has been described as the world’s largest diameter underwater shield tunnel.
The Mixshield TBM constructed by Herrenknecht was used to bore a tunnel to house a two-level road tunnel with three lanes of traffic in both directions. To adapt to the clay, sand and silt geology and the 7.5 bar groundwater pressure under the Yellow River, a Mixshield TBM was selected, according to Herrenknecht. The drive length of the TBM tunnel was 3,290 m.
Jinan is located around 400 km south of Beijing, has a population of 9 million and is the capital of the Chinese province of Shandong and an important business location. The Huanggang Road Yellow River Tunnel is the second tunnel to cross under the Yellow River following completion of the Jinan Jiluo Road North Extension Tunnel in 2024. That project involved parallel drives using 15.71-m TBMs.
Tunneling for the Huanggang Road Yellow River Tunnel began in fall 2024 and was completed in August 2025, according to govt.chinadaily.com. The project aims to improve the connection between the two sides to the north and south of the Yellow River.
